Obama NSC Spox: ‘Trump Was Handed a Mess’

Tommy Vietor represented Obama's national security team, and apparently even he thinks Trump's predecessor didn't do enough in Syria.

By NTK Staff | 04.09.2018 @1:30pm

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for President Obama’s National Security Council, wrote on Twitter on Sunday that “Trump was handed a mess” in Syria. Vietor did not specify who handed Trump that mess.

The Assad regime in Syria used chemical weapons over the weekend, killing dozens of Syrians in rebel-controlled areas. The president responded on Twitter, calling the attack “SICK” and blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

A 2013 tweet from Vietor surfaced after the attack, in which he touted the Obama administration’s efforts to remove chemical weapons from Syria.

Vietor responded to the controversy by defending the Obama administration’s actions and simultaneously admitting they didn’t do enough.

“Trump was handed a mess,” the former NSC spokesman said. He did criticize the president, however, in his next clause.

Republicans and a very dumb columnist are resurfacing this tweet like it’s a gotcha. Shipping out 1300 metric tons of weapons-grade chemicals was a major development. Obviously they didn’t get it all. Chlorine wasn’t covered. Trump was handed a mess but also hasn’t deterred Assad